Chapter 55 Scolding Him
The next day.
Li Qu was in very poor spirits due to a hangover.
He leaned listlessly against the tatami mat, looking like a dead fish.
She thought her second sister would come to see her today, but instead of her second sister, she was greeted by the three concubines from the second branch of the family.
She helplessly raised her hand to cover her face.
I don't really want to see anyone right now.
Because I have no face.
Granny Xu went out to greet them personally.
As the sounds of laughter and conversation drew closer, she heard Aunt Zheng teasingly say...
"Hey, why isn't Sister Li coming out to greet everyone? Is she still shy?"
Footsteps approached, someone sat down beside her, and then her hands covering her face were pulled away, revealing Aunt Hu's lewd gaze in her eyes.
"Well done, Sister Li, how did you manage to get Third Master to willingly go to the ancestral hall to get his hands slapped?"
Aunt Xun sat down at a table a little further away and smiled at Li Qu.
Li Qu blushed deeply, sat up straight, raised her hand to rub her temples, and changed the subject: "The wine delivered by the kitchen last night was too strong; I couldn't handle even one jar."
As expected, the three concubines changed the subject with the wine.
They all recommended wines to Li Qu that were delicious but wouldn't make him drunk.
Granny Xu brought Li Qu some hangover soup, and she also asked for some lightly salted water to replenish her electrolytes.
The three concubines brought Li Qu some good news today.
"The second wife is pregnant."
Li Qu invited the three concubines to have tea and snacks: "It is indeed a joyous occasion. Looking at the three of you, I thought you were pregnant."
Aunt Zheng couldn't suppress her smile as she twisted her handkerchief and said, "The Second Madam wants the three of us to help manage the household affairs, how could we not be happy!"
"Then I hope my three elder sisters will take good care of my sister's affairs at Fanghua Garden in the future."
Aunt Zheng chuckled, "You're the only one in Third Master's room. How could he possibly skimp on your expenses? He even takes the punishments for you."
Aunt Hu nudged Aunt Zheng: "You're just jealous, aren't you? Back in the day, you took thirty slaps in the face."
Aunt Zheng blushed deeply and got up to chase after Aunt Hu.
The two immediately started bickering, creating a cheerful and warm atmosphere.
Li Qu smiled faintly, when she suddenly met Aunt Xun's scrutinizing gaze.
Li Qu gave Aunt Xun a big smile.
Aunt Xun's eyes revealed a hint of doting affection.
They chatted until the end of the day, when the three concubines, not wanting to stay for dinner at Fanghua Garden, took their leave together.
The three had only been gone a short while when Aunt Xun turned back: "It seems I left my bracelet behind."
While Li Qu sent someone to search for her, he invited Aunt Xun to take a seat.
After Aunt Xun sat down, she didn't beat around the bush: "I wonder if Sister Li has heard of the Marquis of Weiwu, Madam Lin?"
Li Qu shook his head: "I don't know much about the nobles and officials in the capital."
"The fourth son of Marquis Weiwu, the seventh son of the Lin family, is named Lin Xiaocong."
Li Qu understood.
"Young Master Lin Qi studied medicine under the Zhang family of Nanyang. His maternal grandfather was a descendant of the Sun family of Tongchuan, which was also a family of doctors."
"He has mastered the strengths of both institutions and has been personally selected by the Director of the National Medical Administration to succeed him. His future is limitless."
Li Qu was taken aback: "Is the Zhang family of Nanyang descendants of the Sage of Medicine?"
"Exactly."
"Could the Sun family of Tongchuan be descendants of the Medicine King?"
Aunt Xun laughed: "The head of the National Medical Bureau is a descendant of Huangfu Mi of Xin'an. He is skilled in using silver needles to exorcise ghosts and bring back souls."
Li Qu was completely unsettled: "So, Lin Xiaocong has combined the strengths of three different schools?"
Aunt Xun nodded: "His Majesty suffered from a chronic headache for many years, leaving the Imperial Medical Bureau helpless. Later, the Director of the Bureau recommended him to enter the palace to attend to him in his time of need. Three months later, His Majesty was able to retire from his illness."
"Therefore, the emperor bestowed upon him the honor of 'National Physician Master'."
Li Qu thought of eight words: "A chosen one of heaven, shining brightly."
"The Marquis of Weiwu came from a family of soldiers, and he also practiced martial arts from a young age. He once fought the Emperor's Grand Commander for sixty moves without being defeated."
"That year, he was eighteen."
"The Grand Commander praised him before the Emperor, saying that he could bring peace to the country by riding a horse and could ward off the unpredictable by examining the pulse."
"For a time, he was the most popular person around."
Li Qu gradually understood something.
She looked at Aunt Xun, who continued, "My stepmother and his mother both came from the Sun family of Tongchuan."
“My stepmother disliked beautiful concubines who would seduce the master, and she strictly controlled the concubines in the household with strong methods.”
"His mother was the same."
Li Qu: "So, you two are relatives?"
"As soon as he arrived at Hezhou, he sent his servant to deliver a letter to me, and politely addressed me as 'sister'."
“His family holds the title of Marquis, and my grandfather once served as a Grand Secretary and Imperial Tutor, so he is certainly worthy of such a title.”
"He asked me to lend him some assistance while he was imprisoned."
"Therefore, when I learned that he was in prison, I sent people to visit him many times."
Li Qu understood: "Sister, you also realized that he had ulterior motives towards my second sister?"
Aunt Xun was slightly taken aback, then smiled and said, "He became famous at a young age, and he is also elegant and handsome. Among the young men of his generation in the capital, he shines like the bright moon."
"He had already caught the eye of the emperor's favored fourteenth princess, who pursued him every day."
“Ordinary noble ladies would not dare to compete with a princess, let alone commoners?”
Li Qu took a deep breath, suppressing her gritted teeth: "I knew this guy wasn't a good person!"
With a strict mother and a powerful princess watching over her, she still dares to provoke her second sister!
Aunt Xun coughed and said, "He is the dream husband of countless young girls, and a well-known gentleman. He is not a bad person."
Li Qu: "Sister, you came here today specifically to remind me of something. You must know that after he was imprisoned, he used his looks to seduce my second sister to provide him with food for his own sustenance. Isn't that a bad thing?"
"Ahem." Aunt Xun awkwardly straightened her clothes. "My people have seen the Second Miss fawning over Young Master Lin several times."
Not only did they bring food and drinks, but their smiles were so bright and cheerful, like the warmth of spring.
Even Aunt Xun was too embarrassed to imitate how the maid described Miss Li.
A female cat in heat.
How embarrassing!
Li Qu understood the unspoken meaning behind Aunt Xun's words.
Just then, Hongguo found the bracelet that Aunt Xun had left behind by the window.
Aunt Xun then got up to take her leave, and Li Qu gratefully got up to see her off: "Thank you for reminding me, sister."
"I just hope my sister doesn't mind that I talk too much."
"Sister, you're making me feel terrible. If you hadn't reminded me, I would have caused a great disaster one day, and I would have had nowhere to cry."
Only after watching Aunt Xun disappear from sight did Li Qu call Cui Guo to her side.
"Have your brother make a trip to Qinyuan and inform my second sister to come see me as soon as possible."
Cui Guo accepted the order and went to carry it out.
The more Li Qu thought about it, the more she felt that Lin Xiaocong was extremely dangerous.
"He's definitely a sesame dumpling with a white exterior but a black interior."
As soon as Granny Xu finished setting out lunch and entered the room, she asked, "What? Madam wants to eat sesame glutinous rice balls?"
Li Qu: "..."
Cuiguo went out but couldn't find her brother.
"They said the second young lady called him away early this morning."
The Li family's affairs can be counted on one hand.
Eating, drinking, sleeping, running the shop, and collecting the body of that 'Old Madam Li'.
*
In the evening, Li Qu was painting.
Granny Xu placed the fabricated ledger beside Li Qu, glanced at it for a long time, and hesitated: "This is... a toad?"
“It’s a frog,” Li Qu corrected. “A frog that can turn into a prince.”
What is a prince?
"To the west there is a country, whose ruler is a king, and the king's son is called a prince."
"Equivalent to a prince?"
"Um."
"You've seen him?"
"No, I've heard people say that there are witches in that country who can turn princes into frogs."
"The frog can only turn back into a human when he meets a princess who is truly willing to marry him."
"Then you can forget about it. You're not a princess, you won't meet a frog prince."
Li Qu put down his brush, looked at the simple sketch that he was quite satisfied with, and then looked at the person who had spoiled the mood with his words.
Zhou Jin stood in front of the desk, quietly looking at her: "Does your head hurt?"
She frowned and pretended to have a headache: "I have a headache, may I skip the formalities?"
Zhou Jin looked at her for a while and then said, "Okay."
She immediately laughed and showed him the frog she had just drawn: "Last night I dreamed that the frog turned into a prince and gave me a bath."
Zhou Jin glanced at the frog, then his gaze fell on her bright smile, asking in a deathly tone, "Why didn't you dream that I was giving you a bath?"
Li Qu calmly took out the next painting: "That prince looks quite like you. Is it you?"
Then Zhou Jin saw a portrait in the painting, with exaggeratedly large eyes, an exaggeratedly large mouth, and a cold gaze.
From the blurry pattern of the hair ornament, one could vaguely discern a resemblance to the person in question.
"no."
Then the comment was: "What you drew is extremely ugly."
She pointed to the human head in the painting and nodded seriously: "It is indeed extremely ugly."
Zhou Jin: "..."
Seeing his dark expression, she chuckled and tossed the painting aside, walked out of the desk, and went up to him, begging for a hug in a coquettish manner.
He reluctantly accepted her advances, feeling secretly pleased.
"He Dongri has some free time, and it's lively outside. Go out and have some fun in the morning, and after the ancestral worship is over, I'll take you hiking in the mountains in the afternoon."
There are traditional customs for celebrating the Winter Solstice. Ordinary people go out and play, large families worship their ancestors, and officials offer sacrifices to Heaven and pray for blessings.
Li Qu nuzzled his chest with her head and said sweetly, "Alright, I haven't yet appreciated the beautiful scenery of Hezhou."
"I won't be traveling far from here until the end of the year. You can ask around about the scenery in Hezhou. I'll arrange time to accompany you wherever you want to go."
She looked at him excitedly: "We can go anywhere?"
"Um."
"Then can you take me with you wherever you go from now on? I promise I won't cause you any trouble."
"No, you can only stay in Hezhou."
She looked at him pleadingly: "While you are handling the business, I will look around."
"I love the free-spirited wind outside and the changing scenery of the four seasons."
"In return, I will set up a small kitchen to research delicious dishes that you have never tried before."
She emphasized, "This is only for you to eat."
He frowned: "You can't ride a horse, how will you get around..."
"I'll meet you, my concubine!"
Zhou Jin: "..."
I feel blocked up inside.
Then came the displeasure: "You're willing to learn anything."
She admitted with a bright smile, "Yes, it's always good to have many skills. I'm a very hardworking person."
He thought of her past, and his displeasure was instantly overtaken by a more bittersweet feeling.
He praised, "Hmm, very good, Aqu is very capable."
"I am a very capable person." She withdrew her arm from his waist and made a gesture of showing off her muscles.
He understood and scoffed at how skinny her biceps were.
And he refused again, saying, "It's ultimately inconvenient for you to ride a horse."
She shook his sleeve: "I can put on makeup, and I guarantee no one will be able to tell that I am a woman."
"Tomorrow I will have Xu Mama find some fabric and make two sets of men's clothes for me."
He remained firm: "Women are forbidden from entering or leaving military camps."
"If it's to the military camp, then I won't go."
"You're that eager to get out?"
Li Qu nodded vigorously: "I want to go out and play."
"Where's the gift I brought you on the first day?"
Li Qu's cheeks slowly flushed as she thought of that object, but she kept staring at his face, trying to see the same shyness and awkwardness on his face as she did.
As it turned out, this guy was extremely shameless and remained completely calm.
She angrily punched his chest, then turned and ran away.
They even called him "shameless!"
Zhou Jin: "?"
She insulted him?
She cursed at him!
After a long while, a word popped into his mind.
Flirting and bantering.
He thought the word was quite fitting.
He glanced around the room.
Nobody saw it.
Very good.
He was just about to go look for her when he heard her gently calling him from the veranda: "Dinner's ready, Jinlang~"
The lingering sound echoed in my ears.
He strode toward the dining room.
A cool breeze brushed past my face, yet it made the spark in my heart shine even brighter.
*
The following day, Li Qu got up late.
When Li Rong arrived, Li Qu was discussing with Granny Xu about setting up a special kitchen in Fanghua Garden.
"Auntie, are you sure you want an earthen stove?"
"Okay, I'll have Third Master bake some bread for you guys later."
Granny Xu quickly waved her hand: "How could this old servant be worthy?"
"If he won't grill, I'll grill for you."
Although she didn't know what bread was, Granny Xu smiled warmly: "We also need to prepare an ice cellar. Now that you have an estate, it's convenient for you to store things from the estate in the summer."
Li Qu nodded: "When I have time, I want to visit the manor and the people in the shops."
"When the time comes, if you find a location you like and someone in your family is suitable, we can arrange it."
“However,” she changed the subject, “if someone is unworthy of their position, I will punish the person who recommended them as well.”
As they were talking, Cuiguo led Li Rong inside.
Xu Mama quickly replied, "This old servant understands, Auntie, don't worry."
Li Qu then turned his gaze to Li Rong.
Li Rong looked very downcast: "I didn't eat breakfast this morning, could you please give me a bowl of longevity noodles?"
She went straight to the couch.
Hongguo stepped forward and asked, "Is today the Second Miss's birthday?"
"No, it's just that such a towering tree, which withstood wind, rain, lightning, and axe blows, was gone just because a single branch was broken."
"It truly proves the saying that life and death are predestined and the world is unpredictable."
Just as Hongguo was about to say a few words of comfort, she saw Li Rong suddenly stand up, look at her, and admonish her, "Avoid vegetarian food, remember that."
Hongguo smiled, curtsied, and withdrew to prepare the meal.
After Li Rong finished a bowl of chicken and seafood noodles with more shredded chicken than noodles, Li Qu and Granny Xu listed out their kitchen projects.
Li Qu looked at the list and said, "Granny, go and inform the Second Madam."
Granny Xu took her leave, and she also dismissed everyone else.
Li Rong leaned comfortably against the soft pillows and said in a low voice, "Father collected Grandma's body and spent a lot of money to buy a nanmu coffin."
Li Qu had anticipated this.
Filial piety is highly valued nowadays.
Parents believe that "there are no parents who are wrong."
"My mother used the excuse that she was pregnant and that it was unlucky to be near such places, so she stayed home and avoided this."
"You completely ignored it, so now all the work has fallen on my shoulders."
"Fortunately, Ah Quan was there to help out, buying a place, a coffin, and finding someone to dig up the grave."
At this point, she glanced at Li Qu and said, "I must say, the Zhou family's reputation is really effective. When A-Quan mentioned that it was about the concubine's family in the Third Master's household, the people in charge changed their tune incredibly quickly."
After she finished rambling on, Li Qu replied with an "Oh".
Li Rong replied casually, "What do you need me for? I'm very busy right now."
Li Qu looked at Li Rong and asked bluntly, "Do you really like that Lin Xiaocong?"
Upon hearing Lin Xiaocong's name, Li Rong immediately sat up straight, her face flushing red: "Well, I want to give it a try."
Before Li Qu could even speak, she immediately replied.
"What if, I mean what if! What if I meet a lovelorn man like those in romance novels!"
"He was unfortunately kicked out of his family in order to marry me, but I can still open a shop to support him."
Li Qu mercilessly retorted, "Your entire year's profits wouldn't be enough to buy him a complete outfit from head to toe!"
“Since he is willing to come with me, he is naturally not afraid of suffering with me.”
Li Qu: "..."
She then told Li Rong what Aunt Xun had said, and together they envisioned the miserable life that Lin Xiaocong's concubine would lead, oppressed by Old Madam Lin above and abused by the princess below.
As a result, Li Rong was even more listless when she left than when she arrived.
She never expected that the seemingly refined and elegant man could actually go toe-to-toe with the Grand Commander in front of the Emperor!
That's terrifying!
She hates people who can fight!
I hate it!
The kind of physiological aversion!
The pink bubbles in my heart popped and popped one after another.
Before leaving the side gate of the Zhou residence, she said to Cuiguo, who was seeing her off, "Go back and tell Third Sister that I hate anyone who is a military officer, no matter how beautiful or good they are."
Cui Guo readily agreed.
Upon hearing this, Li Qu was in high spirits and had a great appetite.
Zhou Jin, who came to have dinner with her that evening, was taken aback and couldn't help but remind her.
"You've already eaten one and a half bowls."
Li Qu was in a good mood, smiling as she bit her chopsticks and looked at him: "Jinlang, you are so handsome that I was so engrossed in looking at you that I forgot to eat."
Zhou Jin: "..."
It was getting late, and he figured she was probably asking for some trouble.
He was happy to grant her wish: "Eat up!"
She hummed a song as she put down her chopsticks: "I'm done eating."
He also put down his chopsticks, watched her humming a tune happily, and slowly picked up a teacup, taking a sip.
He put down his cup and said, "Let's go then."
She put down her cup, looking bewildered: "Where to?"
He looked at her and asked, "Where do you want to go?"
She patted her round belly, feeling she needed to digest: "Let's go to the garden."
Zhou Jin raised an eyebrow: "Are you sure?"
“Let’s go, we haven’t strolled around the night with Jinlang yet.” She left her seat, walked to his side, and took his hand.
"Then let's go with the garden."
By the time she realized that Zhou Jin had told her two different things, she was already pinned against a pillar in the garden pavilion by him.
She called him "shameless".
He showed her with facts what shamelessness truly means.
He loosened her sash and fiddled with her skirt.
He said, "The place that Aqu chose is very much to your liking."
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